Villarreal vs Atletico Madrid
This weekend’s La Liga entertainment kicks off at the Estadio de la Ceramica on Friday night when Villarreal welcomes title-chasers Atletico Madrid.
And it’s a game both teams would dearly love to win, each arriving on the back of a difficult run of results. Diego Simeone’s Atleti is looking for a first away win since October, a sequence which has seen them drop six points off the pace at the top of La Liga.
Los Rojiblancos are looking good to reach the Round of 16 in the Champions League, sitting in second place in Group D with just a home game against bottom club Locomotiv Moscow to come, and a win on Friday will drag them back into the title race.
Meanwhile, Javier Calleja’s Villarreal has drifted seven points behind sixth-place after three defeats on the bounce, all in games they could have taken points from. A win will stop the rut and keep their modest hopes of a European adventure on track.
In the very latest La Liga 2019 betting odds here at SBOBET, there is a quirky symmetry to the odds on these two teams. Los Rojiblancos are third favourites at 27.00 to spring a major surprise and win the league, with Villarreal at 27.00 to get relegated. The Yellow Submarine would rather look upwards of course!
Talking Points
One win in six for Atleti
It was a cruel blow in some respects, but there was an air of inevitability when Leo Messi scored a late winner for Barcelona to beat Atleti at the Wanda Metropolitano last week.
Though Simeone can be pleased by the way his side dominated the attacking play in the first half, wing-back Kieran Trippier was particularly impressive in nullifying the threat of Antoine Griezmann while sending a series of dangerous crosses into the Barca penalty area.
Los Rojiblancos have been sound in defence but are struggling to score the goals to put teams away, drawing 1-1 with Granada and losing 1-0 to Juventus in their two previous games.
The loss of their main striker Griezmann to Barcelona in the big summer transfer was a blow to their fans, and the club has just escaped sanction for the abuse their supporters hurled at their former hero during the Barca game.
Alvaro Morata is top scorer with five, but fellow strikers Joao Felix, Diego Costa and Vitolo have registered just two each. However, they could have some success on Friday night.
The Yellow Submarine has a leaky defence
The Yellow Submarine made a solid start to this campaign but is sinking fast after a run of just one draw to show for the last five La Liga 2019 results. Head coach Javier Calleja has put together a good attacking outfit but they have struggled to keep things tight at the back.
In all four recent defeats, they have scored but failed to capitalise. They suffered a setback in the Valencia derby, losing in the away fixture 1-2 with top scorer Gerard Moreno having a goal chalked off by VAR.
He’s been in fine form by netting eight already this season. And if he scores again on Friday, he’ll be hoping Villarreal’s centre-back pairing of Raul Albiol and Francisco Torres will be able to keep Morata and Co. at bay at the other end.
History
Fans of the Valencia club have had it pretty good in recent seasons. The Yellow Submarine were La Liga runners up as recent as 2008 and held a top-six place for five seasons running before finishing 14th in a difficult campaign last term.
And Villarreal is in top in the head to head results against Atleti over the past two decades, winning 15 to Los Rojiblancos’ 12 and there have been nine draws.
It was a 1-1 draw in this fixture in October last year, and that was Atleti’s fourth draw in nine games as they lost pace at the top of the table.
Sounds familiar? Mario Gaspar equalised after Filipe headed Los Rojiblancos into the lead to give the Yellow Submarine a vital point.
Then Simeone’s side ended a seven-match winless streak by beating Villarreal 2-0 in February.
Both teams are hoping to break an unhelpful sequence with Villarreal without a win in five and Atleti without an away win in six.
Betting Tip
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Villarreal vs Atletico Madrid | 2-3 goals @ 1.91 |
| December 07, 04:00 (GMT+8) |
At 2.97 to win, the hosts have a decent shot at picking up a welcome three points. But a draw at 3.10 wouldn’t be a bad return while Atleti is at 2.44 to win.
And I guess looking at the recent form a draw looks the most likely result, so 1-1 at odds of 5.40 could be a decent outside bet. I do think both teams will score in a tight contest.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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 = €20 (Highly confident) |
= €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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